A longtime local developer has proposed a massive mixed-use redevelopment for 270 acres in North Fort Myers.

Paradise Isle would include revitalizing an abandoned golf course and constructing as many as 1,200 multifamily housing units up to 20 stories, an expanded marina, and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial, office, spa, fitness and restaurant space.

Dennis Fullenkamp, one of the first brokers to buy property on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral and owns several properties in Charlotte County, purchased the property in 2015. Previous developers' mixed-use plans were dashed in a 2007 foreclosure that was, at the time, Lee County's biggest in history.

Fullenkamp and his consultants are working on rezoning the property — which is located between SE 24th Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard, about a mile south of Hancock Bridge Parkway, and bordered by Cape Coral to the south and west — to allow for several new developments that could fundamentally change the area.

According to documents filed with the county, the proposal for Paradise Isle includes:

Two 20-story, 300-unit multifamily buildings adjacent to existing conservation area on the far southwest side of the property

Sidewalks throughout the development and a paved public pathway by the water.

A map of the proposed North Fort Myers mixed-use development.(Photo: Lee County)

The documents, prepared by the civil engineering firm Hole Montes, say the cost of the development will be roughly $600 million to $1 billion, "as it is too early to provide an accurate estimate." A receptionist for Dennis J Fullenkamp Realty said last week he was on vacation, and couldn't be reached for comment.

Tina McCain Matte, a representative of the public relations firm Gravina, Smith, Matte & Arnold, said via email that developers are still in the process of rezoning the property, and have not yet made an application for a development order with the county. She said conservatively, construction on the golf course and marina expansion would begin about two years from now.

"We are still in the process of rezoning the property to allow for the proposed Paradise Isle destination resort and are not sure what the time frames for approvals will be," McCain Matte said.

Another amenity Fullenkamp is considering for the development: a water taxi service across the river to downtown Fort Myers.

"Obtaining approvals from Lee County for the destination resort is the first priority, of course," McCain Matte said. "But the water taxi would be an exciting amenity both for North Fort Myers and downtown Fort Myers."

While the mixed-use area of the development will be open to the public, the entrances to the residential areas will be gated.

After opening in 1972, the golf course was closed in 2006. Hole Montes' paperwork says golf-cart use will be encouraged throughout the development, including with dedicated golf cart parking. The neighborhood on the golf course — the streets off of Birkdale Avenue — are not part of the property, McCain Matte said.

The operational 69-slip marina will be expanded. Utilities were already designed and planned for from a previously approved but undeveloped mixed-use project.

There are 42 acres of wetland on the site, 33 of which have been placed into a conservation easement. Hole Montes said gopher tortoises, which live on the property, will be relocated before any land clearing or development.

"Existing conservation areas will be maintained and enhanced for public access with boardwalks and other passive recreational facilities, as permitted by the easement holders," the documents read, adding that about 7,500 linear feet of riprap and 4,300 linear feet of seawall will be used for shoreline stabilization within the expanded marina basin.

A map of the proposed North Fort Myers mixed-use development.(Photo: Lee County)

A traffic study completed by Transportation Consultants, Inc., which assumed the project would be completed by 2024, concluded that the nearby roads can accommodate the additional traffic through the year 2025. The analysis adds that the U.S. 41 north and south of Hancock Bridge Parkway is over capacity, with or without the development.

But an intersection analysis concluded that "the only improvements that will be warranted are for the unsignalized intersection of Orange Grove Blvd. with Birkdale Ave," citing a projected decrease in the intersection's level of service with traffic from the project. Doug Dailey, president of the North Fort Myers Civic Association, said he hopes developers will address the possibility of widening Orange Grove Boulevard.

He said the development will revitalize what was a prime area for golf and recreation in the '70s and early '80s, and boost property values of nearby homes.

"The residents of Lochmoor are really wanting (the golf course) back in there," Dailey said, adding that it was a big draw for many residents when they bought homes in the area. "This is a big thing."

He speculates the development will give businesses along the Hancock Bridge Parkway corridor a boost as well.

"This could be the thing that spurs the development interest in the North Fort Myers corridor area," he said. "If we can get this thing approved and gone through quickly, you're going to see people getting on board."

McCain Matte said additional public information meetings on the project will be held, but have not yet been scheduled.